9th Annual RISE Symposium includes Student Poster Contest Winners

Thursday, October 18, 2012

On Saturday 13 October 2012, sixty people attended to 9th Annual RISE (Research Insights in Semi-Arid Environments) Symposium in the Marley Building on the University of Arizona campus (http://www.tucson.ars.ag.gov/rise/index.htm). Ten invited speakers covered topics ranging from hummingbirds and buffelgrass to water-use efficiency (WUE) and landscape evolution observation (LEO) in the Biosphere 2. The highlight was the two-hour poster session where 18 poster presenters led a cacophony of discussion in the Marley foyer. The objectives of the symposium are to share recent results of scientific research at the USDA-ARS Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed (WGEW) and the University of Arizona Santa Rita Experimental Range (SRER), to encourage future research and outreach activities.

Through a generous contribution from long-time supporter Mr. Malcolm McGregor, this is the inaugural year of the student poster contest where Best and Honorable Mention posters are awarded cash prizes for reporting research performed by undergraduate and graduate students working at WGEW or SRER, or using data collected at those facilities. SNRE (School of Natural Resources and the Environment) students captured all four awards. Graduate student winners were Zulia Mayari Sanchez Mejia (Best) and Amber Dalke (Honorable Mention). Undergraduate student winners were Kelsey Hawkes (Best) and Evan Kipnis (Honorable Mention).